


Life Saver

by peanutbutter_kitz



Series: Rhack One-shots and Tumblr prompts [5]
Category: Borderlands, TFTBL - Fandom, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Bit graphic, Comfort, Explosion, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hospitalization, Hurt, Love Confessions, Love Realization, M/M, One Shot, PA!Rhys, Portective!Jack, Romance, Surgery, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 22:12:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6875719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanutbutter_kitz/pseuds/peanutbutter_kitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whilst doing a routine check of one of Hyprrion's bases on Pandora, Jack and Rhys are caught in an explosion. Jack protects Rhys, but the younger man is left to deal with the aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Saver

**Author's Note:**

> Eh, I needed a slightly emotional, fluffy, lovey dovey fic...
> 
> Enjoy ^•^

The ringing is still in his ears, loud and persistent. The ground is hard and cold against his body, the temperature seeping through his clothing and pressed against his skin where the fabrics had been torn. A body lays heavily on top of him after what felt like hours after the explosion, but was more like minuets, the chunk of meat being the only thing that had stopped the debris and rumble from covering him. Rhys was alive... Aching and there was a very serious pain in his leg, but he was alive. The same thing couldn't be said for whoever was above him. He's pretty certain that he's dead. He couldn't even recognize if the that was the mans face or the back of his head. The use of only one eye probably didn't help as his cybernetic's wiring had been knocked lose, rendering them completely useless. Plus it was pretty dark here.

"Ja-" his voice cuts out as he tries to call for the older rman. The CEO... What an arragonat, ignorant prick. When the explosion had started, the man had shileded him with his own body at the last second, and now he wasn't exactly sure as to where he was.

"Jack?" He tries again, his voice hoarse, raspy and quiet. That's when he sees the flash of a grey jacket and his breath hitches in his throat. His eyes dart everywhere to see it again, to find it amongst the rubble, but- oh... How he wished he hasn't found it.

"J-Jack?" He stammers, his working arm coming up to place a hand on the body above him. Carefully he brushes the rubble and stands of chestnut hair from his face and almost breaks down at the sight. This was indeed the masked man of Hyperion, the mask torn and showing large portions of the scar hidden underneath, cuts and gashes flecked across his face and body, like in the pattern of a paintbrush when he flick its bristles onto paper... The worst gash seemed to on his head, traveling down and across to his shoulder. Something had hit him hard enough the the clasp of his left temple had broken in two, one part now somewhere among the ruble that was once a Hyperion base, the other half embedded in his skull, the jagged metal glinting with blood as it sticks from his flesh.

"Jack? C'mon Jack, you need to get up!" He urges, gently pushing on the man's shoulders, "please!~" he whines, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes as the CEO still doesn't move. There's noise from around them, rumble falling to the concrete floor and being moved to the side.

"Jack, c'mon, they're here now. Hyperion's here and they're gonna get us out." He announces, practically begging for the older man to hear him. He feels the older man’s chest rumble against his as his head moves slightly to the side and a very visible wince forms on his face.

“Rhysie? What-?” he groans, moving to sit up, but being held close by his young PA.

“Just stay still. They’re digging us out now.” Rhys soothes, running his fingers gently through the man’s hair.

"Are you OK?!" He suddenly questions, his voice panicked and movements quick. However, Rhys stops him, placing a hand on his shoulder and keep in him to his chest. Jack groans as pain shoots through him.

"Shh, stay still. Please Jack. Just a little longer and we'll get you back to Helios." Rhys promises, avoiding the original question in fear of jinxing himself or worrying the CEO anymore than he already was. Suddenly, rubble his carefully pulled aside from close to the PA's face and the light from the Pandoran sun rushes in, causing him to squint.

"We got them. Over here!" A voice calls out, more debris being brushed and hefted from on top of them, Rhys fingers gently running through Jack's hair as another form of comfort which he wasn't too sure he could give. How could he comfort the most fearless man in the universe, when he wasn't even sure himself on how they were gonna get out of this? Rhys ached and could feel the air brushing against fresh, raw skin across his body, blood splattered over him and some nasty looking burns on any exposed skin, so he can only imagine what Jack looked like. Actually, he didn't wanna think about it. The CEO had pushed him out of the way, so he'd taken the brunt, the worst, of the explosion. No doubt he was in ten times worse shape than Rhys.

“Sir? Rhys.” Someone above him calls, drawing the PA’s attention, “We’re gonna get you out as quickly and safely as we can, but we need to know if you and Jack have anything that’s hurting right now.” He asks, crouching down as more people move around them.

“I-I don’t know… Jack’s really not with it and he covered me when the explosion went off, so I-I don’t-“ He stammers, most of the words barely coming out.

“OK, it’s fine, we just didn’t want to put your bodies through anymore stress. We’ll figure out all the injuries on the way back up to Helios."  
Rhys nods and stays as still as he can, in consideration for the rescue team, but mostly for himself in fear that he was gonna make the aching in his muscles even worse. He’s also fairly certain that his chest was getting tighter...  
To keep himself calm, he begins to pet the CEO, stroking his fingers through the older man’s hair, rubbing his fingertips in small circles on his scalp.

* * *

He could remember the explosion and pushing his PA out of the way… but everything afterwards is a blur. He’s not even sure how he got onto the shuttle, an oxygen mask pressed to his face and various tubes connected to his arms. He’s lying down, various pillows under his head and a heartbeat monitor at his side, but no one seemed to be attending to him, they were all crowded around the other side of the shuttle.

“R-Rhys?” He stammer’s, propping himself up in his elbows in an attempt to get a better view at what was going on.

“Handsome Jack, sir, please, lie back.” A medic insists, moving away from the other makeshift bed, made from the shuttle seats with their armrests pushed back, accidentaly giving the CEO a look in. It was Rhys, people around him looking frantic and somebody on standby with defibrillators, as someone presses an oxygen mask to his face and speaks close and reassuring words.

“Rhys!” He calls, forcing himself up, before hands settle on his shoulders, forcing him back down.

“Sir please-"

“What the fuck happened to him? What’s going on?” he growls, trying to fight against the other man, but finding that his weak state was making it difficult.

"Well, he seemed fine, but then when we got onto the shuttle he started to complain about chest pains, so we gave him some pain relief, but then he stopped breathing normally. We think he might have a punctured lung. When the explosion happened, we think that the force of him being thrown to the ground managed to break a rib and it's hit his left lung." The medic explains, begin to give Jack a once over, rechecking his vitals in case anything has changed.

"Well, you can fix it right? He's gonna be OK?" Jack questions, his voice becoming distant as he can feel himself slipping back into unconciousness.

"He's going to be fine sir, as soon as we get him back up to Helios, he'll be on the mend almost immediately." He assures, watching as Jack's eyes begin to drag themselves closed, "You're the one we're worried about."

* * *

When Rhys came to, he was met by the stench of sanitizer, the beeping of a heart monitor and a matress under him that definetly wasn't his. Opening his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light, he scans over the hospital room.

"It's good to see you're awake sir. Please, be careful when sitting up, your chest is still mending. You had a few broken ribs, which punctured a lung and you've been out for a dew days." A nurse informs, her voice soft and gentle.

"And Jack?" He asks, completely disregarding his own health in fear of the CEO's.

"We put you in the same room. Security protocol." She smiles warmly, before leaving the room. Craning his neck, Rhys spots the other bed opposite him, the CEO's form under the sheets.

"Jack?" He calls, roaming slightly as he sits up and ache attacks his chest. Pulling himself out of bed, unhooking several wires that were still in his arms, dragging across the room to the man's bedside. Thankfully, his mask was still in place (there would've been hell to play if it wasn't) but it as battered and torn, and the rest of him didn't really look much better. 

"Hey handsome," he breathes, bringing a hand to stroke softly though his mussed hair, "please wake up." 

Rhys had heard something about him going into surgery, and he's fairly certain it was more than one, but that doesn't mean it's helped. He just needed him to wake up, to make sure that he was ok. On TV they always say to talk to the person, in an attempt to help bring them back to reality and make going toward the light less tempting.

"Remember..." Rhys begins, feeling slightly stupid, but enjoying the revive of a memory with the CEO, dropping his voice to a whisper for only them to hear, "remember when we were in the office- actually, no, my first day as your PA? I thought I was going to be shot on the spot at getting your coffee wrong. I got all the ingredients right, but you said it was too sweet and I honestly thought that was the end of my life." He chuckles, nostalgia washing over him. "I didn't understand why all you did was laugh and tell me not too worry, that "its alright cupcake, you've always got next time.' Everyone had always said how you once killed a PA because he messed up the coffee. Actually, I still don't. For some reason. You always put up with my shit, my slip ups and my banter... Would you do that for anyone else?" He questions, sighing slightly and pressing his face into the covers of Jack's bed. He refused to cry. If he cried and there was CCTV, Jack would rip the shit out of him for years.

"Of course I wouldn't, I like you dum dum," Jack groans, jolting the young brunette to sit straight in shock, "and I can't believe I had to save you from and explosion and go through surgery for you to realize that." He continues, rolling his slated eyes at the man.

"Y-You heard that?" He stammers, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

"Of course I did, you were whispering it right into my ear. You'd have to be deaf not to hear it." He shoots back, his typical, ass ways failing to elude him even in poor health.

"Well I thought you were- wait, did you say you liked me?" He stammers, his voice almost a whimper.

"And then penny drops. Honestly kiddo, its amazing that I _do_ keep you on as my PA. You can be so stupid sometimes." He chuckles, bringing a hand up to cup the younger man's face.

"That's not very nice." He mutters, unconsciously leaning into the touch as Jack's rough pad of his thumb strokes over his cheek.

"How are the ribs kitten?" The CEO asks, smiling warmly as the brunette brings a hand up to lay over his larger one, his fingers rubbing small circles on his flesh.

"Aching, but it's good." He grins, turning his head to nuzzle his nose into the man's palm, "What about you, how're you feeling?"

"Better than I was two days ago." Jack chuckles.

"Five days ago." Rhys corrects, watching as the man suddenly jolts up, his eyes widening and a small hiss escaping his lips.

"Five days?! _Fuck_...." He exclaims. There's a few minuets of silence, where Jack begins to process this information, beforehand e sighs, rolling his eyes and taking Rhys' face in his hands. Pulling him forward gently, so not to hurt his chest anymore, he stretches the rest of the way, to cover his mouth with his own. Their lips slide over one another's, working together at their own pace.

"You saved my life Rhysie." He smirks, pulling Away, not even an inch apart to death those words.

"You saved mine too.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on tumblr: nihongoochitsuite


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